Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

Can I thank the member for Lalor for the question, for her continued advocacy for women in her community and across the country and, in particular, for her mentoring of and friendship to so many women across here—particularly her support of the fabulous new women that have come into this parliament.

The Albanese government know just how important women are to the future of this country, and with over half of our caucus being women we're committed to delivering for women and representing women. We are very proud to be taking real action in closing the gender pay gap, something those opposite talked about for nearly a decade but absolutely failed to deliver on. I am very proud to inform the House that, under the Albanese Labor government, the gender pay gap has now fallen to its lowest level on record—11.5 per cent. That means that Australian women working full time are now earning, on average, $255 more a week since those opposite left office. We've also reached a new record high for women's workforce participation. That's not just a statistic. This is women across Australia earning more, building for their financial security and being recognised for the important jobs that they do in our economy.

This is because we have put in place tangible policies, and they are working. From 1 July 2025, the national minimum wage and award wages increased by an additional 3.5 per cent, following on from a 3.75 per cent increase on 1 July 2024. Those reliant on these changes were largely in female dominated professions. And $17.7 billion has now been provided to support wage award increases for aged-care workers and nurses, who are largely women. We've also committed $3.6 billion in funding to support a 15 per cent wage increase for the early childhood workforce, which is more than 90 per cent female. We know what makes a difference, and that's why we are getting on with delivering.

Let me be clear: gender equality in Australia will not be achieved by accident. It takes leadership and purposeful policy decisions that our cabinet is making. It takes that dedication and it takes action. It's what this government is doing, and, frankly, those opposite still continue to stand in the way. They voted against accelerating the closing of the gender pay gap by lifting the bar for bigger employers, a recommendation they previously supported; they voted against better pay and secure jobs; they called wage increases in care industries 'a sugar hit'; and they voted against stronger protections. It's only this side of the parliament that actually supports gender equality for women. (Time expired)

See this speech in context